Gyroscopic compass



Dec. 9, 1924. 1,518,752

H. L. TANNER 'GYROSCOPIC COMPASS Filed Aug. 5, 1922. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.7

N VEN TOR. M

' 2% mil? ATTORNEYS.

Des. 9

H. L. TANNER GYROSCOPIC COMPASS Filed Aug. 5, 1922: 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZNVENZ'OR/ i fjrokusys.

z mi ZZ use; member assooieo Hoses L. sememe, es :seoemvrs, new

YLGRZK, ASSIGEIDR TO @933 ZNSTRTUEIENE INCL, 91 LGHG ISLAEi'IiE 9 NEW :YQRK, COEPfiZBfoATIQN GE"! NEW YEW.

-App1ics-2ion files Angus: 3,

To aZZ whom it may ooncom Bait known that I, HARRY L. TANNER a citizen of the United States of Ame-rice, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, State of New York, have inventefli certain new and usei'ui Improvements in Gyrosoopic Compasses; and 1 dohere'by fieoiere the following to be e, iuii, cieu', sn i exact description of the invention, such Wiii enaioie others skiiieti in she ertio which it epperueins to make Anei use the some. 1

This invention reiaces to gyroscopio compasses and particularly to arrangements for maintaining the bearings of she g vroscopio eiemem, about which precessionsi movements sake piece, in e, sensitive condition in order to lessen the opposition "co these movements and thereby render the inst-umenzt more sensitive and accurate is its opemiion. Another fee-inure oi "the i'iventioo lesides in the provision of e mounting for the eieciricsi apparatus of the eompess whereby the structure vviii be more compact end .as use of seporeie eppemws Wiii be avoided.

the types of gyroscopic comyoess at present in use e g vrosoopio eiemeni; oos. sisbing of e roisetsbie mass within a surrounding case is suspen I "from driven Toy 01E e. like emem or some I noon which gyroscooic eiemeoi is mo compass cord is arm in azimuth ioy devise con oi cm and movebie sherevv oriing axis of the E! w ooo'oe? with Serial No. 579,522.

new course, the iuiibers line being pieced.

'upon e part of the instrument which is fixeii .which it imports to the power driven eiei ent, cause a continuous osciiiecion of siign't empncucie between the gyroscope eiement emi the power ririven element,

thereby mainsainiog the beeviogs by which the gyroseopic eiement is supported upon the power driven element in e sensitive condition, so time upon e relative movement between these elements the friction that might otherwise exist in the bearings emi impede such movement is to e great extentover some,

in compasses of the genesei tvpe described ebz 7e in which this as is usually exiled takes piece, it is produced by the motor which. senses the power kriven eiemenii to foiiow the movement of the gyr opic element This aieiaiigemenfi possesses "ft-oils ciisaciventages which, as vviii m re ciee'ciy hereimi'z r eppeeir, ii is UM present ism-orat on to ovoid. e diffiouiiav 5' enoi iemem sinuo 1'15 rel eiive 1.1

the continual yawing of the craft, even when on a steady course, will be suficient to show Jthpt the compass system is operating propor y I In order to overcome these and other disadvantages attending the use of the motor which drives the power driven element of the compass for the additional purpose of producing oscillations of the bearings, the present invention provides a mechanism independent of the motor for producing the oscillations. between the elements of the compass necessary to lessen the friction at the bearings of the gyroscopic element. Due to the use of an independent means for producing the oscillations a uniform fre quency and amplitude of the oscillations may be easily secured without causing a relative movement between the compass card element and the lubbers line element, since the oscillations may be imparted to some other elements of the com ass than those be tween which the motor 0 the power driven element produces a relative movement. The oscillations may also be made more nearly sinusoidal. Since there are no oscillations between the compass card element and the lubbers line element there will be no oscillations transmitted to the dials of the repeater compasses and accordingly the latter may be more conveniently and accurately read.

Another advantage of the invention re-' sides in the fact that oscillations of larger amplitude may be imparted to the elements of the compass than is possible when such oscillations are caused by a relative movement between the compass card and lnbloers line elements, for such oscillations of greater amplitude would interfere with reading both the master compass and the repeater compasses operated therefrom A further advantage of the invention resides in the fact that the motor for driving thepower driven element may have alhighen gear ratio than can he given to it when it is also employed for oscillating the hear ings. G11 account of this increased gear ratio more torque is available for moving the compass card element with a given size of motor. The increased gear ratio also gives to the motor a period of oscillation-which is relatively long as compared with the period of the mechanism which produces the oscillations of the bearings, so that any tendency of the latter to impress its period upon the former and thereby produce an oscillatory movement hot-ween the compass card and lubber s line elements is avoided. By suitable adjustment or: the period oi the motor which drives the power driven ele= ment as compared. with the period. oi the motor or other device which produces e oscillations a sli 1 relative oscillatory movement hetwcen the compass card and relates the wheel or gyroscope. The induction mo-,

tor is supplied with polyphase current usually generated by a motor generator or equivalent device driven from the power supply of the craft upon which the coinpass is mounted In order to produce a more compact arrangement and to save the space occupied by the motor enerator, as Well as to lessen thenumber 0' conductors between the motor generator and the compass, the present invention includes the provision of a motor generator within the pedestal of the gyroscopic compass, and in order to reduce the number of electrical devices to a minimum the motor of the motor generator is also employed for imparting to the elements of the gyroscopic compass the oscillations required to maintain its hearings in a sensitive condition, although it will be understood that if desired, a motor independent of the motor generator may be employed for this purpose.

While the invention is of general application to all forms of gyroscopic compasses, it is for purpose of illustration shown herein in connection with a compass of the general type shown in my copending application Serial No. 469,201, filed May 13, 1921.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating such application of the invention Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the upper part of the pedestal oi the instrument showing the motor generator and gyroscopic compass mounted therein,

Fig; 2 is a view of the top of the instrument.

Fig, 3 is a detail view on an enlarged scale showing a part of one of the mechanisms by which oscillations are imparted to the hearings" Fig, t is a view in section along the line l@ of Fig, 3 and Fig. 5 is a vector diagram relating to the operation of the instrumemb "in the drawings, 1 represents the pedestal. oil the instrument which as here shown is provided with a bowl 2 from the top oi which is suspended by means of springs 3, an outer gimbal ring d within which is an inner ring 5 within which is mounted a gyroscopic compass of the type shown in my eopending application referred to shove.

llnstead of a simple-trunnion connection Bil llll

ring is, in accordance with the present invention, provided with a pair of diametrically opposite projections 6 lying in the north-south axis of the instrument as shown most clearly in Fig. 2. Extending through each of these projections and the inner gimbal ring is a shaft 7 provided at its outer end with a disc 8 having an eccentrically disposed crank pin 9 extending into a bear ing in the outer gimbal ring 4.

The inner end of each shaft 7 carries a crank 10 to the outer end of which a link 11 is detachably secured by means of a stud 12 clamped between theiorked end of the link and extending through a suitable bearing 13 in the arm. The lower ends of the two links 11 are connectedto opposite ends of a cross bar 14 pivoted at its center to a bracket 15 attached to a partition 16 within the pedestal 1 of the instrument. One of the links 11 is extended as at 17 and to this extended portion is connected the upper end of a link 18, the lower end of which is connected to acrank pin 19 on a shaft 20 mounted in a bracket 21 attached to the end of a motor generator 22 driven from the power ciroilits of the ship for supplying the alternating current required for driving the gyroscopes of the instrument and which, in accordance with the present invention, is mounted within the pedestal 1 upon a shelf orpartit-ion 23. The shaft 24 of the motor generator is extended and provided with a worm 25 meshing with a gear 26 on the end of the shaft 20.

Mounted within the inner gimbal ring 5 upon trunnions 27, 27 is an outer frame or shell 28 carrying a ring 28' which bears the lubbers line 29 of the compass and within which is mounted by means oi -balls 30 an inner frame or shell 31 hearing the compass carol 32 adapted to cooperate with the lubbers line in giving the indications of the compass. The inner frame is provided with trunnions lying in the north-south plane and upon which is mounted a stabilized ring 3% which, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1, is provided with depending brackets 35 disposed in the north-south plane and carrying at their lower ends a ring 36 within which is mounted a stabilizing gyroscope 37 havin its rotor axis substantially vertical.

Mounted within the stabilized 34* upon trunnions 38 is an inner ring 3-9 within which is mounted upon. hearings 4. 0 and ll the case 41-2 of the main gyroscope i3 consisting of the rotor of an induction motor mounted within the case which caries the stator of the motor. The gyroscopic element and its supporting 3%? are mounted in an inclined position as shown most clearl in by d. its trunnion axis the center or gravity of the element so that the latter is pendulousand maintains a predetermined inclination o: to the surface or the earth. which inthe present case is substantially 30.

Attached to the bottom of the inner frame 31 is a gear 44: which is engaged by a pinion 45 mounted on a shaft 46 which is mounted within a frame 4.7 attached to the outer frame 28. The shaft 46 carries a gear 48' which meshes with a pinion 49 on a second shaft 50 which carries a gear 51 engaging a pinion 52 on the shaft of a servo motor 53, the circuit of which is controlled by a contact device consisting of a contact 54 mounted on the case 42 of the gyroscope and adapted to engage one or the other of two contacts 55 mounted upon ring 39 to cause the servo motor to rotate in one direction or the other. For simplicity, the circuit connections between the contact devicejand the motor have been omitted.

For transmitting the indications of the compass to repeater compasses the shaft 50 is employed for actuating a transmitter 56 of any suitable construction, which since it forms no part of the present invention is shown merely in outline as of the step-bystep type.

In the operation of the instrument, if the course ofthe craft be changed the resulting movement. in azimuth of the outer frame 28 will tend to carry along the inner frame 31 and the rings 34 and 39 mounted thereon. As the ring 39 moves it will turn the case 42 about the inclined axis of the rotor and will itself be slightly tilted about the axis 40-41 from its normal position with respect to the plane of the case, due to the fact that the trunnions 3838, by which it is connected to the stabilized ring 84, move in a horizontal plane while the case moves in an inclined plane. This change in the relative position ofthe case 42 and ring 39'will cause a dis placement of the contacts 541 and 55 from their neutral position with respect to each other in a direction to cause the servo motor 53 to beenergized to turn the inner frame 31 in the reverse direction to that in which. it tends to turn hy the movement imparted to the outer frame 28 by the change in the course of the craft. This reverse movement of the element 31 will turn. the ring 39 and case 42 until. the contacts 44 and t5 are brought back to their neutral position with respect to each other. The instrument will operate in the manner described above whenever there is any yaw of" the craft. servo motor will always maintain the com-- pass card in its true. position with respect to the points the compass. while the outer frame 28 which bears the lubher s line will turn about the interior parts or" the in-= strument in accordance with the movenier of the craft. fit the time trrwill transmit to the 661.1

. to the inner gim till passes an indication of the relative movement between the outer and inner frames, or in other words, the relative movement of the compass card 32 with respect to the lubbers line 29.

The actuation of the motor generator 22 will, in addition to supplying alternating current for the main and stabilizing gyroscopes, produce through the worm 25, gear 26, shaft 20, crank 19, and link 18 an oscillation of the cross bar 14, the amplitude of which will depend upon the proportioning of the various elements through which movement is transmitted to the bar. The oscillations of the bar will, through the links 11, 11 reduce a rocking movement of the shafts 7, thereby producing a relative movement in azimuth between the outer and inner gimbal rings 4 and 5 due to the eccentric connection between these rings formed by the crank pins 9.

In order to cause this relative movement between the gimbal rings to take the form of an actual movement of the inner ring 5 with respect to the fixed parts of the instrument, the movement of the outer gimbal rin is preferably restrained by means of springs 57 attached at their ends to the top of the pedestal and at their centers to the outer gimbal ring 4 as shown most clearly in Fig. 2. Instead of the springs 57 any Jther suitable arrangement may be employed for restraining the outer gimbal ring in case its inertia is insufficient to prevent it from moving under the influence of the crank pin 9. The springs 57, however, possess the advantage ozt yielding slightly at the limits of the oscillations, thus lessening the shocks upon the instrument when the direction or" movement of the inner gimbal ring changes.

The oscillator movement thus imparted ball ring 5 will be transmitted through the trunnions 27 to the outer frame 23 and inner frame 32, due to "the friction between these frames and the locking effect of the servo motor The movement imparted to the inner frame 32 will then be transmitted through the trunnions 33 to the stabilized ring 3% and then through the trunnions 38 to the inclined ring 39.

The resultant effect upon the gyroscope of the oscillatory movement imparted to the ring 39 may be explained with the aid of the vector diagram out Fig, 5. In this diagram the vector a-h represents magnitude the amplitude of the oscillations in a horizontal plains, or in other words, the amplitude of the oscillations imparted to the ring 39 through its trunnions 3E4. vector o--c is laid oil with respectto "the vector a- -h at an angle a corresponding to the inclination ofthe gyroscope. From the point t, a third vector lb--c is laid at right angles to the vector Zr-5., "lhe length vector ac then represents in magnitude the amplitude of form of a continuous oscillation of the case about its axis 40-41, thus maintaining the bearings of this axis in a sensitive condition, thereby reducing the friction which they oppose to the precessional movement of the case with respect to the ring 39 which occurs during the operation of the instrument. Since this oscillatory movement is produced by a source independent of the servo motor 53, the latter is relieved of the function of oscillating the'bearings and its own period of oscillation may be lengthened or even entirely eliminated. The servo motor may thus be given a higher gear ratio, thereby increasing the torque available for moving the elements actuated by the motor with a given size of motor. I

The increased period of the servo motor may be produced by suitable proportioning of the ratio of the gears by which it is connected to the inner frame 32 or by increasing the inertia of the armature of the motor. The first arrangement is preferred as it gives, in addition to the longer period, a greater toqrue, and at the same" time causes the, motor to operate at sullicient speed to cause the moving elements of the instrument to respond quickly to changes in course of the craft,

The transmitter 56 will reproduce in the repeater compasses any oscillatory movements between the compass card 32 and the lubber s line 29, but the amplitude of these llli) oscillations may be reduced or even 'elimiated so that in the repeater compasses there is, at the most, only a slight hunting action between their indicating elements. In all cases, however, the period of oscillation of the servo motorshould-be relatively long as compared to the period of oscillation imparted to the elements of the instrument by the connection to the motor generator to prevent the latter period from being imprese d upon the servo motor, which would result in relative oscillations between the compass card element and the lulobers line element, and render the instrument open to one of the objections which the present invention over" comes.

While an application of the invention to a particular form of compass been disclosed, it will be understood that it is equally applicable to other forms and that in any case various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the principle of the invention as delined in the appended claims,

I claim:

1, in a gyroscopic compass having a gyroscopic element provided with hearings for llll ree

electrically-driven gyroscopic element provided with bearings for mounting it upon a power-driven element adapted to be'moved in azimuth by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of electrical mechanism for supplying current to the gyroscopic element and means actuated by the mechanism for continuously oscillating the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

4. In a gyroscopic compass having an electrically-driven gyroscopic element provided with bearings for mounting it upon a 1 power-driven element adapted -to be moved in azimuth by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of a second motor, a generator driven by the second motor for supplying current to the gyroscopic element and means actuated by the second motor for continuously oscillating the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

5. In a gyroscopic compass having an electrically-driven gyroscopic element mounted upon a movable element supported upon a pedestal, the combination of electrical mechanism mounted within the pedes tal for supplying current to the gyroscopic element and agitating said movable element.

6. In a gyroscopic compass having an electrically-driven gyroscopic element mounted upon a power driven element supported upon a pedestal, the combination of a motor generator mounted within the pedestal for supplying current to the gyroscopic element and mechanism for agitating said power driven element.

7. In a gyroscopic compass 7 having an electrically-driven gyroscopic element provided with bearings for mounting it upon a power-driven element supported upon a pedestal and which is arrarf ,d to be moved in azimuth by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of electrical mechanism mounted within the pedestal for supplying current to the gyrosoo ic element and means actuated by the mec anism for continuously oscillating the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

8. In a gyroscopic compass having an electrically-driven gyroscopic element provided with bearings for mounting it upon a power-driven element supported upon a pedestal and which is arranged to be moved in azimuth by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of a second motor mounted within the pedestal a generator actuated by the second motor for supplying current to the gyroscopic element and means actuated by the second motor for continuously oscillating the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

9. In a gyroscopic compass having a gyroscopic element provided with bearings for mounting it upon a power-driven element supported upon a plurality of gimbal rings and arranged to be moved in azimuth by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of mechanism for producing continuous oscillations of one of the gimbal rings to impart continuous oscillations to the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

10. In a gyroscopic compass having a gyroscnpic element provided with bearings for mounting it upon a power-driven element supported upon a plurality of gimbal rings and arranged to be moved in azimuth by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of a second motor, and eccentric connections between the gimbal rings and means for actuating the said connections fromthe motor to produce continuous oscillations of one of the gimbal rings to impart continuous oscillations to the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

11. A gyroscopic compass comprising a gyroscopic element, a support for said element including bearings a power driven element on which the gyroscopic element is mounted by said support, a motor for moving the power driven element in azimuth, a member on which the power driven element is mounted, an inner gimbal'ring on which the member is supported, an outer gimbal ring, a support for the outer gimbal ring, a pair of diametrically opposite eccentric connections between the inner and outer gimbal rings and mechanism operatively connected to the eccentric connections for actuating them to produce continuous oscillations in azimuth of the inner gimbal ring to impart continuous oscillations to the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

12. A gyroscopic compass comprising a gyroscopic element, a support for said element including bearings a power driven element on which the gyroscopic element is mounted by said support, a motor for moving the power driven element in azimuth, a member on which the power driven element is mounted, an inner gimbal ring on which the member is supported, an outer gimbal ring, a support for the outer gimbal ring, a pair of diametrically opposite eccentric connections between the inner and outer gimbal rings, a second motor and means operatively connecting the second motor to the eccentric connections for producing continuous oscilname I element and the support within which it is lations in azimuth of the inner gimbal ring to impart continuous oscillations to the bearings of the gyroscopic element.

13. In a gyroscopic compass, the combination of a gyroscopic element, a support within which the element is mounted upon bearings on an inclined axis, a member within which the support is mountedupon a horizontal axis, a power driven element upon which the member is supported, a member mounted continuous relative oscillations to maintain the bearings of the element in a sensitive condition.

14. In a gyroscopic compass, the combination of a gyroscopic element, a support within which the element is mounted upon bearin s on an inclined axis, a member within which the support is mounted upon a horizontal axis, a power driven element upon which the member is sugported, a member upon which the power riven element is supported, a motor for driving the power driven element, a contact device associated with the gyroscopic element and the support for controlling the motor, a second motor and means operatively connecting the second motor to the second named member for producing continuous oscillations of the latter to impart to the gyroscopic element and the support within which it is mounted continuous relative oscillations to maintain the bearings of the element in a sensitive condition. v

15. In a gyroscopic compass the combination of a gyroscopic element, an inclined member, bearings for supporting the gyroscopic element upon the inclined member, a

member within which the inclined member is mounted upon a horizontal axis, a power driven element upon which the member is mounted, means for supporting the power driven element and means for imparting continuous oscillations to the supporting means to produce continuous oscillations at the bearings between the gyroscopic element and the inclined member.

16. In a gyroscopic compass, the combination of a gyroscopic element including a rotor and a case surrounding the same, a member upon which the case is supported by bearings, a power driven element upon which the member is supported, a motor for moving the element and member to turn the case about the rotor axis while the gyroscopic element is seeking the meridian and means for producing continuous oscillations of the case about therotor axis to produce continuous oscillations between the case and the member upon which it is supported to maintain the bearings in a sensitive condition.

nation of a gyroscopic element including a rotor and a case'surroundingthe same, a member upon which the case is supported by bearings, contact -mechanism consisting of a part-associated with the case and a part associated with the member, a motor adapted to be energized when the parts of the 17. In a gyroscopic compass, the combimechanism are moved relatively to each other by displacement of the gyroscopic element with respect to its supporting members during meridian seeking movements thereof,

connections between the motor and the supporting member for moving the latter to turn the case'about the rotor axis to bring theparts of the mechanism into normal relation ,to each other and means independent of the motor for producing continuous oscillatory displacement of the gyroscopic element with respect to its supporting member to main tain the bearings in a sensitive condition.

18. In a gyroscopic compass, the combination of a gyroscopic element including a rotor and a case surrounding the same, a'

member upon which the case is supported by bearings, contact mechanism consisting of a part associated with the case and apart associated with the member, a motor adapted to be energized when the'parts of the mechanism are moved relatively to each other by displacement of the gyroscopic element with respect to its supporting member during meridian seeking movements thereof, connections between the motor and the supporting member for moving the latter to turn the case about the rotor axis to bring the parts of the mechanism into normal relation to each other, a second motor and means actuated by the second motor for imparting to the supporting member continuous oscillations to produce continuous oscillatory dis: placements of the roscopic element with respect to said mem r to maintain the bearings in a sensitive condition.

19. In agyroscopic compass, the combination of a gyroscopic element, an inner member within which the element is mounted upon bearings, a second member upon which the inner member is mounted, a member movable in azimuth and carrying the second member, a motor for movin the azimuth member, mechanism for contro ling the motor comprising a contact element astween the gyroscopic element and the inner anism independent of the motor and having member to maintain the bearings of the elea period of oscillation relatively short as 1-0 ment in a sensitive condition. compared with that of the motor for main- 20. In a gyroscopic compass having a taining the bearings of the gyroscopic ele- 5 'yroscopic element provided with bearings ment in a state of continuous vibration.

For mounting it upon a power driven element In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

adapted to be moved by a motor controlled by a contact device, the combination of mech- HARRY L. TANNER. 

